One Year Photos!

We had our family photos done for Emily’s first birthday by Jennifer Ecker Photography and I absolutely LOVE THEM! She did a great job! See for yourself!

 

 

 

We love you, big girl! Next up, first birthday party pictures, complete with cake and ice cream. Yum!

They're Coming...

The pictures, that is!

Yes, I know it's been a LONG time since I've posted. I just don't keep up as much as I'd like these days. We have a lot going on around here though, so don't be too angry with me. I'll make up for the long delay, I promise! I have ONE YEAR PHOTOS!! I just have to get them all organized and I can post them. Also on the To Post List: Emily's (belated) first birthday party, first haircut, a trip to Spokane complete with park and beach adventures, and lots of other random, cute-baby things. We've been busy!

The weather here still sucks. We've been getting about 50% rain, 40% grey, cloudy skies, and 10% sun. And when it's nice out, EVERYONE heads outdoors, so it makes things a bit more difficult. I'm hoping we'll get to the zoo and to some of the nicer parks around here soon; I'm just so tired of staying indoors all the time! And Emily loves to play outside so we're taking full advantage if the teeny tiny amount of sun we get. Oh! By the way, I finally started a garden! Add that to the To Post List, also. I'm not sure how fruitful it will be, but it's worth a shot, right? Things are so expensive these days (hello, $65 tank of gas, I'm looking at YOU) that every little bit helps, and if I can save some by growing our veggies? I'm all for it. Just wish me luck- I've never been much of a yardwork person.

Well, I guess that's all the random update stuff I have tonight. I'll be back soon! I promise. :) Here's a little something to tide you over...

Mother’s Day

This year I celebrated my second Mother’s Day. From Rob and Emily I got a very sweet card and a beautiful picture frame filled with pictures of my two favorite people. I went out to lunch and got a pedicure with a good friend, then came home to a happy baby and a wonderful husband who made me dinner and spent the evening relaxing on the couch with me. It was very low key and exactly what I wanted. Thanks honey! :)

I came across this poem and thought it was pretty much perfect. I love being a mom and wouldn’t trade it for anything!

Before I was a Mom
Before I was a Mom, I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I took a shower and brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom, I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations or diapers or baby food.

Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, or peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

-Unknown

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there! You are wonderful!

Things I want to remember about our life these days

• Morning snuggle time in mama and daddy’s bed when Emily wakes up. She’s such a happy kid in the morning! Daddy brings her into our bed and we all sit and play for a few minutes. It’s a wonderful way to start the day.
• At 12 months old her favorite thing to do is point to noses. Her nose, my nose, the puppy’s nose, you name it. If it has a nose, it gets poked! She stops nursing to point at my nose and say, “neh –neh” on a regular basis. Very cute.
• She’s very close to being able to walk completely on her own. She takes 10 steps or more around the living room between the couches, shelves, us, and her toys, but is still hesitant to walk around the house without holding onto our hands. When she gets to a destination she claps and squeals and is SO proud of herself! She pushes her shopping cart around the room cheering and giggling. It’s great.
• Little adventures we take in the car as a family of three. We’ll get a bit stir crazy and decide to hop in the car for an hour and cruise around and see the “sights” of the area. Emily used to fall asleep on these drives but lately she stays awake and chats with us. We like it better this way!
• Listening to the littlest chatterbox tell us all about her day. She “talks” constantly and I think it’s the greatest thing ever. She’s started to say quite a few real words also, and can identify select objects (when she wants to, of course!). Some of her favorites are milk, ball, puppy, kitty, shoe, light, up, down, mama, dada, and of course nose. She learns new words every day! She also does the sign for “more” when she’s hungry.
• Her little quirks like insisting in carrying her blanket with her every time she leaves her crib, trying to chew on the washcloth in the tub, YELLING at the vacuum from her highchair when I’m cleaning. Anything with buttons grabs her attention, and if she sees your cell phone, watch out. She’ll drop anything she has for a chance to explore it!

I know I say it a lot, but despite the bumps we’ve had lately, life is good. I am one happy Mama! :)

Busted.

 

NOT the best week ever.

• Our apartment is still not rented out. That means we’re paying rent for this house AND that one. So much for “Oh, it’ll rent within the week!” Yeah, right.
• Emily is teething again, this time I think it’s the molars, poor girl. She doesn’t want to go to sleep very well lately so we have been staying up late with her. Not so fun when Daddy has to work early the next day.
• Rob’s car was vandalized in our driveway. They tried to get into the trunk but were unsuccessful. Who does that?! Go buy your own crap, jerks! GRRR!
• We had what we thought was a mouse in the house. We found his, *ahem*, evidence all over the floor. After 2 days of laying, and constantly checking, mouse traps, Rob saw him in the garage. He’s not a mouse, but a huge rat! It seems there’s a really fun infestation under the house. Um, GROSS!!
• Across the state, my family has had speeding tickets, migraines, missing paychecks, stolen tools, and SNOW. It’s May, snow?? Really? April wasn’t anyone’s favorite month I don’t think. I’m glad it’s over.
• The high point of my week (and usually every day!) is this precious girl. We went to get her first birthday pictures taken last night and a few are posted on the photographer’s blog. Take a peek!

No matter what else is going on, Emily has a way of always making us smile. Tonight she was blowing raspberries on her daddy’s tummy to make him laugh. She thought that was just the funniest thing ever! What a kid. :)

Blueberry applesauce may not have been the best choice.

We have officially entered the eat-by-myself phase. As soon as I get the baby food jar out, Emily covers her face and refuses to eat. Anything that’s mashed, blended, pureed, or otherwise needs to be fed to her with a spoon, is out. Meals have become quite a challenge around here! Crackers, peas, carrots, bread, and pasta are just about the only things on her menu now. And she refuses almost all fruit. Any meal ideas would be greatly appreciated!

The other day we finally just gave her the spoon and let her go to town. She had a blast! I’m not sure how much of the food actually ended up in her mouth, but I guess that wasn’t really the point, right? Ha. Now it’s all she wants to do…

 

I can see many more food adventures in our future. Away we go!

One.

One year old. One year filled with giggles, smiles, kisses, baby drool, sleepless nights, and more poop than I would have ever imagined. Also more love than I could ever have dreamed was possible! She changed our lives in every way. Full of sneaky smiles and mischief, she really makes it clear that we are no longer in charge around here.

One year ago today I became a mom. And as MY mom would say, I was the happiest mom in the world! I wrote the story of her birth in two parts, here and here, and thinking back on that day I wouldn’t change it at all because it brought our precious girl to us. We thank God every day for her!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO OUR EMILY MARIE!!!

At One Year Old, Emily:

…weighs 18 lbs 2 oz and is 29 1/2 inches tall. She’s between 50 and 75% for height, but only 5% for weight. The doc says she’s very healthy and has no concerns, just tall and skinny!

…is almost walking on her own! She took three steps on my birthday (best present ever!) and will walk between the couch and coffee table if it’s not too far, but she hasn’t taken off and started walking all by herself quite yet. She stands up a lot but is very hesitant to walk without help. She gets braver every day though and we think she’ll be walking very soon!

…has started saying more words this month! Her very first “real” word was Dada, but she didn’t associate it with her dad for quite a while. Cracker was the first word she said that had a meaning attached, so we count that as her first word! She can also say Mama (FINALLY! Haha!), puppy, kitty, yucky, and probably a few others that I can’t think of at the moment.

…is a great eater! She loves to drink from her straw sippy cup and eats most everything we put in front of her now. She’s started refusing to eat from a spoon and wants to do it all herself, so we’ve had a few adventurous dinners lately! Her favorite foods are peas, toast, ham, and of course crackers.

…still, STILL doesn’t sleep through the night. She wakes up usually once to eat and sometimes two or three other times also. She’s usually pretty easy to put back to sleep, but it’s really hard on Mama! I’m hoping as her teeth come in she’ll be a better sleeper. The doc also mentioned that her eczema might make it hard to sleep, so hopefully we’ll get that under control soon too.

We’re getting professional family pictures done soon so for now we’ll take a look back at the past year. It went so fast!

One day old

One month

Two months

Three months

 

Four months

Five Months

Six months

Seven months

Eight months

Nine months

Ten months

Eleven months

Twelve months

Our tiny baby is turning into a little girl. She’s beautiful, silly, snuggly, and very smart! We love her very much! Happy first birthday, Punky Boo. You are loved more than you could ever know!!